Never give up… Serving

(“Never Give Up” is a series of posts on what we do together in a Sunday service. You can find all topics here.)

This time of year is an obvious reminder that in a family, no member is replaceable. Last year, my sister-in-law had to fly home at short notice so wasn’t able to be with us for Christmas. And that left a hole in us as a family. We missed her jokes, we missed her insights, and we missed just having her sit at the table when we ate. One member was missing, so the whole family suffered.

And the same is true in the church family. We need each other – I can’t do without you, and you can’t do without me. God has designed us to depend on one another. And one way he has done that is by giving us each gifts to use for one another. Like in Oceans 11, none of us has all the skills, so we need to work together to get the job done.

The Apostle Peter roughly divides the gifts we have into two groups – speaking and serving:

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

Next week we’ll think about speaking, how we can use our words on Sundays as “the very words of God”. But here are some thoughts on how we can serve each other practically on a Sunday, remembering that God has made us depend on one another:

Pray beforehand. Ask God to give you an attitude of service, and to show you a way of helping someone else.

Get on a rota. There are lots of informal ways to serve one another that can’t be co-ordinated, but we also need our rotas filled! Whether you can pour coffee with a smile, hand out Bibles with a smile or advance Powerpoint with a smile (there’s a theme!) we need you. It can seem like there are already plenty of people doing those things, but those who are involved will say otherwise!

Think about going to services. Some of us as two students will have time to do this, and why not see it as a way of serving. Maybe you can look after children in the morning and then hear the sermon in the evening. Or keep an eye on Timeout to see if one of our Co-Mission partners needs some help for a while, then go for it.

It’s very easy to come on Sundays just thinking about what we can get out of it. But friends, we need each other. Let’s never give us serving together.